David Smith: How Tokyo boccia gold winner transformed his life during the coronavirus pandemic

David Smith is now Britain's most decorated boccia player of all time. His individual BC1 gold in Tokyo was his second consecutive title in the event and his fifth Paralympic medal overall. Before the Tokyo Games began, he told BBC Sport Wales how he had transformed his life during the coronavirus pandemic to put him the best position to defend his title.

When you are the reigning Paralympic, World and European champion, you may think you would not need to change anything.

But David Smith - who successfully defended his individual BC1 boccia Paralympic title in Tokyo - says he used the coronavirus lockdown to "transform his life".

"I've changed my mindset, I've changed my nutrition, I've changed my diet," he told BBC Sport Wales before the Games.

"It's given me a chance to reset and regroup."

At the start of 2020, Smith said he was "shattered". He would train hard and travel from one competition to the next. He had won everything there was to win and he felt under pressure to keep winning.

Back then, before the pandemic, the Paralympic Games were only a few months away and Smith admitted he was "stalling" in his preparations.

"As a sportsman you're required to train all the time," he said.

"Boccia's been my sole income for a large number of years. The pressure that comes with that - if you don't win, you get a 50% pay cut.

"It's quite a cloud. A weight on your shoulders that doesn't necessarily benefit performance.

"And from a personal point of view, at the age of 32, I was thinking do I just want to be known as a boccia player for the rest of my life? What else is there? Life is a bit more than that.

"The pandemic just gave me a chance to analyse it."

An empowering change

Smith first tried the sport of boccia aged just six. It was a slow start, as he admitted that for five years he did not win an end (a boccia match is made up of four of them).

But at secondary school he continued to play and started to improve. He became the youngest ever British champion in 2003 and then came away with gold in the BC1/BC2 team event at his first Paralympics, aged just 19, at Beijing 2008.

Individual silver and team bronze at London 2012 was followed by individual gold at Rio 2016. There were two world and two European titles along the way too.

He earned an MBE in 2017 for services to his sport.

It all added up to his feeling of fatigue by 2020. Then the pandemic hit.

In Swansea, his hometown for more than a decade now, Smith spent the first two weeks of lockdown doing very little, enjoying "his own space".

Then he started thinking.

He was struck by a quote from the late American businessman and motivational speaker, Jim Rohn: "If you want things to change, you need to change and if you want things to get better, you need to get better."

Smith said: "That different way of looking at things meant I wasn't blaming the sport any more for lack of media coverage, the lack of investment or the lack of sponsorship.

"It was all on me. If I wanted to do something about it, then I could do something about it. Which is quite empowering.

"I built a nice little business for myself alongside boccia. It just takes the pressure off going into Tokyo. I'm not worried about finances any more. That's all sorted.

"I can go into Tokyo with a clean mind and just actually play with freedom."

• Smith wins Tokyo boccia gold

Smith has become a lifestyle coach, helping people improve their physical and mental health and "showing them their inner athlete".

He describes it as a rewarding part-time job to have alongside boccia.

The lockdown and resulting restrictions meant he could not train on a boccia court as often as in the past.

But he turned it into an advantage, using the time instead to work on his fitness at home and improve his diet and believed he was fitter going into Tokyo than he had been before the pandemic.

When he does train on court, the time is shorter, but more focused helping changes Smith believes has made him fresher physically and mentally for the big occasions.

"The thing that was holding me back was probably the pressure of needing to defend this or needing to defend that," Smith concluded.

"I don't feel like I need to do that any more. I've proven myself, but actually now it's not about that.

"I'm going to be able to play for much, much longer. It's more sustainable.

"Covid has almost forced me to do it in a different way, and weirdly I seem to be thriving from it."

Smith's approach ensured he continued to thrive in Tokyo.

Even going 2-0 down in the final did not throw him off course. Smith's 4-2 comeback win over Malaysian Chew Wei Lun secured another Paralympic medal, his fifth overall and second consecutive individual BC1 title.

He has also become the most decorated British boccia player in history.

Ominously for his rivals, his new way of living and training means Smith feels he can get even better.

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